The Bozeman weekly chronicle., 1887-09-07
Terms of Subscription:
A. X. YERKES. Publisher.
THE SQUIRREL LAW.

Fer another issue of the CiIRoNICLE
greets its readers the momentous squir-
rel question, around which more interest
is centered in this county than any other
measure now occupying the time and
talents of our territorial legislators. will
be settled for d year at least. The CmRoN.
IcLE has already expressed a hope that
the law, if intericrred with at all, would
be surrounded with safeguards that
would place beyond the question of
doubt or cavil the possibility of fraud or
collusion with which it now seems to be
surcharged. That the expense of this
act has been great none will attempt TO
deny, but this expense only goes to
prove the great amount OF good which
has been done during the short existence
of this law. For years Gallatn Valley
has been menaced by pest, that dur
ing one season, through the assistance of
the territory. has been almost Destroy
ed, We venture to assert that during
the next year, if the law is allowed TO
stand, the amount paid for squirrel
scalps will be less than 5000. Judge
Blake Of Madison county, in his pro-
posed amendments to the bill, author.
ICES the probate Judge to be the sole re-
cipient OF the scalps, whose duty it shall
be to count them in the presence of the
sheriff or some other county officer, ell
ter the name of the person killing the
squirrels, the number killed, the date
and the name of the witnesses, in n re-
cord provided for that purpose. The
parties entitled to bounties shall receive
the sum of four cents per scalp, the adj
ditional one cent to be paid the county
commissioners, who. at their regular
sessions, will Distribute the moneys 40
received to the probate judge and the
officers who have assisted him. This
provision is equitable, it provides the
necessary safeguards and will remove all
Objectionable features of the law. Hon.
W. W. Anderson, in his speech before
the committee last Saturday, favoring
the countenance of the law, made no un-
tenatable assertion when he said.that the
money paid out by the territory for
squirrels this year would be returned to
Gallatin county by large excess of
crops. Speaker Armstrong, in answer TO
gentlemen opposed to the law, on the
same occasion, Indignantly denied that
Gallatin county had come to the legisla.
ture as supplcant,-a medicant beg.
ging aims. The legislature had proyid-
ed law calculated to assist and benefit
agriculture. That law had been of
greater advantage to Gallatin than any
other county in the territory, and he
considered it but just and right that it
should be perpetuated, especially at this
period when the money previously used
would be worse than thrown away,
After several others favcring and op.
posing the measure had spoken it was
agreed by the committee to amend the
bill by fixing the bounty on ground
squirrels at 8 cents, J cent to 90 to the |
county commissioners; cents for |
prairie dogs, ] cent to go to the county
commissioners. Time will demonstrate
the feasibility of such an amendment,
but to our mind the better plan would
have been, if amendments other than
safeguards were demanded, to haze lin
tied the period Of killing squirrels and
prairie dogs from April to June. Bv
this plan the pests would have been
destroyed during the breeding season
and with every female large number of
young would have been killed. Four
cents is little enough to pay for each
squirrel killed, and had it not been that
a large number of Timberline miners
were out of work this year, it is doubt
full whether the killed would have
reached the numbers attained. In many
instances the farmers extended liberal
aid to squirrel ratchers, who were thus
enabled to make living in pursuing the
frisky pest, which is not killed rs easy as
many imagine. AT the present price
boys must be depended upon to finish
the work of annihilation so auspiciously
begun, and it may be that they will en-
lireIy rid this valley of squirrels; yet we
Joubt it.